1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fruit picking devices and more particularly pertains to a new and improved mechanical fruit picker which is designed to pick fruit through the use of a vacuum-operated suction tube in a manner which increases the rate of fruit picking while preventing damage thereto.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There has been a substantial number of different methods and apparatuses developed which are designed to reduce the complexity while speeding the process of picking fruit from trees. Some of the earliest and most well known fruit picking methods have involved the use of ladders to assist the pickers in reaching otherwise inaccessible fruit. The use of ladders and other climbing structures is, of course, cumbersome and slow, inasmuch as the ladders must be continually moved and in many cases, they cannot even be positioned, at least in a safe manner, in a location which permits the reaching of all of the available fruit on a particular tree. Many injuries continue to occur which are the result of ladders falling or from the pickers falling off of the ladders per se.
Resort has also been made to the development of a number of picking devices which effectively and substantially extend the reach of a picker to otherwise inaccessible places. A typical known device includes a double pronged grasping hook mounted on the end of a long pole whereby a picker can position the prongs about the sought-after fruit and disengage the same from a tree limb. However, these types of devices cannot be efficiently used in large commercial operations, inasmuch as the fruit is often bruised or otherwise severely damaged as a result of its dropping to the ground, while after being pulled down, the fruit must still be retrieved from the ground and packed into transporting containers. Accordingly, at least with respect to large scale commercial activities, there has been and continues to be a substantial effort to improve upon the prior art methods of picking fruit as above-described.
More recently, there has been some interest in utilizing suction tube devices to assist in the picking of fruit. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,473,312, which issued to Holt on Oct. 21, 1969, discloses a fruit picker which is effectively a tube-like member having a suction flow of air being drawn therethrough. The air intake end of the tube may be positioned proximate a piece of fruit, and the fruit will be effectively sucked into the tube and separated from its supporting tree limb. The fruit is then directed with the flow of air through the tube and is ejected out of the opposed end of the tube into a transporting container.
While recognizing the feasibility of using a suction tube for the purpose of picking fruit, the Holt apparatus would not be particularly feasible in large scale commercial operations due to the fact that the tube is designed to be carried and utilized by a single individual. Where large and tall fruit trees are involved, the length of the suction tube required would become prohibitive whereby a single individual could not efficiently utilize the same, while the design of the tube is such as to present the distinct possibility of fruit damage during picking. While damaged fruit is permissible for private home use, it normally cannot be profitably marketed by a commercial supplier.
The use of larger and more practical suction tube fruit pickers has also been discussed in patents. For example, U.S. published application No. B 380,900, which issued to Cardinal, Jr. on Jan. 28, 1975, discloses a flexible pick-up conduit that is connected to a source of vacuum for the purpose of picking up fruit, leaves and the like. The conduit is mounted to an assembly which includes at least three longitudinally expansible accordian-like tubular control members, and pressurized air flows through the control members in response to regulation by an air flow proportioning valve. The conduit discharges into a transporting container which is disclosed as being mounted on the bed of a truck. While apparently operating to function in the manner desired, it is noted that the conduit discharge is located at the top of the transporting container whereby a substantial drop is experienced by the ejected fruit. As such, substantial bruising and other damage to the fruit may occur, thus destroying its value in the market place.
A more ambitious and complex undertaking is to be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,460,330, which issued to Black, Jr. on Aug. 12, 1969, wherein there is disclosed a tractor-like device having a plurality of suction tubes extending outwardly therefrom. The plurality of tubes extend in a multitude of radially-opposed directions so that a multiple fruit-picking operation can be performed, while all of the tubes discharge onto a conveyor belt with the discharged fruit then being dropped from the conveyor belt into a portable storage container. The apparatus disclosed in this patent is substantially complex in its design and most likely would be very expensive to manufacture. Further, as with the priorly discussed devices, no provision is made for carefully moving the picked fruit through the individual suction tubes and into the storage container in a manner which prevents fruit damage.
Of further interest with respect to the prior art is U.S. Pat. No. 3,413,787, which issued to Van Antwerp et al on Dec. 3, 1968, wherein there is disclosed a mechanical fruit picker that includes the use of a flexible suction tube mounted to a trailer pulled by a tractor. In this respect, the flexible tube is operably mounted to a boom structure having an operator basket mounted on its free end, whereby an operator may stand in the basket and maneuver the flexible tube into various desired fruit picking positions. The boom is hydraulically controlled with respect to its positioning, while the discharge of the flexible conduit is directed into a wheeled wagon attached to the back of the tractor.
The Van Antwerp fruit picker is of an expensive and complex construction, and additionally, no provision is made for carefully and delicately moving the picked fruit through the suction conduit or for carefully depositing the fruit in the storage wagon, thereby to prevent fruit damage.
As is apparent with respect to the above discussion of the prior art, a satisfactory solution for utilizing suction conduits in an economical and efficient manner for picking fruit, while at the same time preventing fruit damage, is not yet available in the public domain. It stands to reason, therefore, that there exists a substantial need for such solutions, and in this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.